Advanced Energy Perspectives

In August, we published our list of the top 10 utility regulation trends of 2020, so far. With a tumultuous 2020 largely in the rearview mirror, we now look back on the 10 trends that defined the utility regulatory arena this year. It is difficult to overstate the influence COVID has had on virtually every facet of the energy sector – and utilities were no exception. Nor is it possible to ignore the impact that extreme weather events have had on utility planning and operations. On top of that, the outcome of the presidential election promises to shape the federal energy regulatory landscape for years to come. Because of – or  perhaps in spite of – these transformational shifts, advanced energy is well-positioned for continued growth in 2021.

Florida, the Sunshine State, has always had good reason to develop solar power, but has still lagged behind other states. More recently, the case for Florida solar has strengthened even more. The price of solar has fallen by 36% in Florida over the last five years. This low-cost, fixed-price resource is particularly attractive to companies with commitments to renewable energy, including General Electric and Disney, while cities like Orlando, Sarasota, and Tallahassee that have established 100% renewable energy targets. Despite the economics of solar and commitments from companies and municipalities, Florida has not taken the lead on solar. The recent approval of a major solar program for customers of one utility will not do it all, but it’s a good start.

As the Indiana General Assembly passed the halfway mark of its session last week, the question of whether to offer a lifeline to costly coal plants came to the forefront for the second year in a row. Last year, the advanced energy industry claimed victory as the House rejected a proposal that would have placed a 20-month moratorium on Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) action on any matter involving more than 250 MW of generating capacity. This proposal would have locked in Indiana’s coal-fired generation for nearly two years and prevented Indiana’s utilities from pursuing their plans for advanced energy investment. Unsurprisingly, coal interests came back to the legislature this year looking for protection again. Despite rejecting the moratorium last year, a new proposal to require IURC approval before a utility can retire a coal plant was approved by the Indiana House. Now moving to the Senate, this bill is threatening to slow Indiana’s transition to investment in advanced energy. Here are the top five reasons the legislature should act to defeat this proposal:

This is a guest post by Adam Scheer (Recurve), Jake Millette and Olivia Patterson (Opinion Dynamics), and Julie Michals (E4TheFuture)

Driven by advancing technologies and by policies that are evolving to both mitigate and adapt to climate change, the energy industry is changing at a breakneck pace. On the demand side, our fundamental challenge is moving beyond siloed programs into scaled demand flexibility to achieve states’ priorities such as grid resilience, resource adequacy, and decarbonization, amidst increasing electrification. Critically, scaling distributed energy resources (DERs) to meet a host of policy goals will require that we leverage limited ratepayer dollars to cultivate as much energy efficiency (EE) and other DER investment as possible. The question is: are cost-effectiveness (CE) testing practices developed decades ago adequate to guide our industry investments today? In our experience, legacy CE practices are inhibiting both innovative program designs and commonsense best practices for putting ratepayer dollars to optimal use.

We all have the power to save energy and today’s technology providers make it easier than ever to make a big difference. Whether you want to save money on your home energy bills, improve building comfort, reduce office, commercial and industrial costs, drive U.S. economic growth and jobs, or make a significant dent in harmful emissions, energy efficiency (EE) is a superpower we can all tap right now.

That’s why AEE is supporting the fourth annual national Energy Efficiency Day on Oct. 2 and encouraging you to join us. Working with national and regional EE colleagues, we are taking this fall day to highlight all the benefits of EE, shed light on enabling technologies, share valuable, cost-saving tips, and make it fun.